Wade applies to run for 3rd term

2012-01-24 11:55

Dakar - Senegal's 85-year-old president formally applied Monday to run in February's election, ending speculation about whether the octogenarian leader would seek a third term, according to the country's official news agency.

President Abdoulaye Wade's campaign manager, Prime Minister Souleymane Ndiaye Ndene Ndiaye, handed in the application on the president's behalf at the headquarters of the country's constitutional court, the Senegalese Press Agency reported.

The constitution was changed after Wade took office in 2000 to impose a two-term limit. However, Wade argues that the law is not retroactive, and since he took office when there were no term limits, he should be allowed to run for a third term.

The opposition has vowed to take to the streets if the court validates Wade's candidacy when it publishes the list of approved candidates on Friday.

"We are optimistic," Ndiaye told reporters as he exited the building. "His candidacy has fulfilled all the conditions set out by the law." He added that Wade will accept the decision of the court on Friday, and urged the opposition to do the same.

Wade's bid for a third term is controversial and last summer, protesters shut down the capital, burning tires and hurling rocks as protests spread calling for Wade to step down. Earlier on Monday, a coalition of opposition groups held a demonstration to call for Wade to step aside.

- AP